Current:Home > ScamsGaza war protesters hold a ‘die-in’ near the White House as Netanyahu meets with Biden, Harris-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Gaza war protesters hold a ‘die-in’ near the White House as Netanyahu meets with Biden, Harris
View Date:2024-12-23 20:47:01
WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters against the Gaza war held a “die-in” across from Lafayette Park and the White House on Thursday as President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The protesters poured red liquid onto the street, saying it symbolized the blood of those killed in Gaza. They chanted, “Arrest Netanyahu,” and brought in an effigy of Netanyahu with blood on its hands and wearing an orange jumpsuit. The jumpsuit reads, “Wanted for crimes against humanity.”
More than 39,000 people have died in Gaza since the start of the war in October. Dozens of Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity.
In an address to Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu defended Israel’s conduct during the war, as thousands of demonstrators massed near the Capitol, marching through city streets carrying Palestinian flags and calling for Netanyahu’s arrest.
Outside Washington’s Union Station, protesters removed American flags and hoisted Palestinian ones in their place to massive cheers in the crowd. They sprayed graffiti on a monument to Christopher Columbus.
In a statement Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, spoke strongly about the protesters’ actions.
“Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent, and we must not tolerate it in our nation,” she said. “I condemn the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in that way.”
The number of protesters Thursday was significantly smaller than the day before.
Hazami Barmada, who described herself as a grassroots activist, spoke through a megaphone of Biden’s decision not to see reelection and to pass the baton to Harris.
“Biden did not voluntarily leave the race, Joe Biden was pushed out of the race,” she said. “And Kamala Harris still needs to prove her humanity” before earning the trust of pro-Palestinian voters.
“I’m not going to give you my vote until you show you share the ideals that the Democratic Party is supposed to believe in,” she said.
At one point, a young man with an Israeli flag draped over his shoulders walked into the middle of the protest circle and posed for the journalists’ cameras as the crowd jeered.
Police worked to keep the two sides apart.
As police led the man away — he wasn’t detained — Barmada shouted, “See, they even want to occupy our protests. Even our land isn’t enough!”
As police cleared the way, the protesters later marched through city streets toward the National Mall.
___
veryGood! (6246)
Related
- Record-setting dry conditions threaten more US wildfires, drinking water supplies
- Recreational weed: Marijuana sales begin in Ohio today. Here's what to expect.
- Dozens of earthquakes in SoCal: Aftershocks hit following magnitude 5.2 quake
- Federal appeals court upholds Maryland’s ban on assault-style weapons
- Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn is ending her retirement at age 40 to make a skiing comeback
- Global stock volatility hits the presidential election, with Trump decrying a ‘Kamala Crash’
- The Imane Khelif controversy lays bare an outrage machine fueled by lies
- Can chief heat officers protect the US from extreme heat?
- Reese Witherspoon's Daughter Ava Phillippe Introduces Adorable New Family Member
- 2024 Olympics: Tennis Couple's Emotional Gold Medal Win Days After Breaking Up Has Internet in Shambles
Ranking
- Giuliani’s lawyers after $148M defamation judgment seek to withdraw from his case
- Powerball winning numbers for August 5 drawing: jackpot rises to $185 million
- PHOTO COLLECTION: AP Top Photos of the Day Tuesday August 6, 2024
- Georgia property owners battle railroad company in ongoing eminent domain case
- Who will save Florida athletics? Gators need fixing, and it doesn't stop at Billy Napier
- See damage left by Debby: Photos show flooded streets, downed trees after hurricane washes ashore
- US abortion numbers have risen slightly since Roe was overturned, study finds
- Four are killed in the crash of a single-engine plane in northwestern Oklahoma City
Recommendation
-
Karol G addresses backlash to '+57' lyric: 'I still have a lot to learn'
-
Powerball winning numbers for August 5 drawing: jackpot rises to $185 million
-
Serena Williams, a Paris restaurant and the danger of online reviews in 2024
-
Could another insurrection happen in January? This film imagines what if
-
Wisconsin authorities believe kayaker staged his disappearance and fled to Europe
-
Illinois Gov. Pritzker criticizes sheriff for hiring deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey
-
White Sox end AL record-tying losing streak at 21 games with a 5-1 victory over the Athletics
-
Caeleb Dressel on his Olympics, USA swimming's future and wanting to touch grass